And I want to be clear about something. I'm not anti-Republican and I don't have it in for white guys.
No one will ever accuse you of being anti-Republican, son.
See, you are what you eat, and you've swallowed the "anti-Black" Republican line.
But you can't get away.
It's when I'm out in the world, when I have to interact with people, that I'm reminded I'm something other than just me or a man who happens to be black. I'm a black guy.
And yesterday, man, did I feel like a black guy.
Yesterday I was at the Republican debate at the Reagan library in Simi Valley. I couldn't help but have a sense of my own blackness just on the drive up there. Fifteen years ago the city was still in turmoil after a Simi Valley jury acquitted four white cops in the beating of Rodney King. In politics, of course, image is everything. While the GOP clearly wanted to send a message to their base by invoking the memory of Reagan, I couldn't help but think about the subtext projected by the choice of the location to all people of color. And let's not forget, when Reagan launched his 1980 presidential bid he did so in Philadelphia, Mississippi. A place previously famous as the location where three Civil Rights activists were murdered in the 1960s.
I'm pretty sure I was the only one up at the library that made these connections.
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I was rolling the eyes when reading it too
I do have to admit, I was shocked to see him actually there doing his MSNBC commentary. I was like, ' Dude, what the hell are you doing at the Reagan Library? Have you no shame?'
Phuk these Hoes!
It ain't erudite. It ain't scholarly. It ain't polite - but I'll be damned if it ain't right.
What cracks me up is, after
What cracks me up is, after all he's written, he STILL has to say "I'm not anti-Republican and I don't have it in for white guys."
And do you think he understands why?
That's what you do...
That's what you do when you're auditioning - interviewing for a position. You have to sell yourself. Talk about your strengths and weaknesses. Tell them what you will and will not do.
That's expected. Ridley just told them what to expect from him. That his resume already indicates the very thing he said, he is expected to verbalize it. It's part of the procedure.
If so, then he's promising
If so, then he's promising to tough it out with them, even if he's the last lonely negro standing.
Last Negro Standing...
I just had to laugh at that. The painful, hilarious truth to it.